“The Entrepreneur’s Book of Actions — Essential Daily Exercises and Habits for Becoming Wealthier, Smarter and More Successful” by Rhett Power (McGraw-Hill, $26).With weekly to-do advice broken down by days, Power creates an easy-to-follow guide for running your business without ruining your life. Here’s the agenda for the first few weeks:Weeks 1 and 2: “Passion […]
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Hartford Business Journal and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Hartford and Connecticut business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Hartford Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
“The Entrepreneur's Book of Actions — Essential Daily Exercises and Habits for Becoming Wealthier, Smarter and More Successful” by Rhett Power (McGraw-Hill, $26).
With weekly to-do advice broken down by days, Power creates an easy-to-follow guide for running your business without ruining your life. Here's the agenda for the first few weeks:
Weeks 1 and 2: “Passion and purpose” and “stepping stones” deal with self-awareness and motivation. Start with “Why do you do what you do?” Your answer should define the purpose for your business and personal lives. It should address what makes you happy, what you're good at and what you should be better at.
With purpose defined, think about what you need to do more of and less of to add value to the lives of those around you, and your community. Prioritize a one-step-at-a-time plan. Make a checklist and review it daily to maintain focus. If you didn't achieve what you wanted, write down what stopped you. (Power firmly believes that many stops are self-inflicted by mood, which affects attitude.)
In the short term, expect your “stop” list to grow because you'll be more aware of what's holding you back. Long term it will shrink as your awareness results in actions, which minimizes their impact on progress.
Motivation also involves looking at the company you keep. How many of your friends are uppers? Downers? Work your world around the uppers and put the downers on the “to-don't” list. An added benefit of surrounding yourself with uppers — you'll see change as opportunity, not as a problem.
Power suggests a way to hold yourself accountable for your actions: Each day, give a friend or co-worker some money to hold. If you complete your to-do list, you get the money back. If you don't, the friend keeps the money.
Reward your achievements and recognize those who helped you earn the reward. Key takeaway: “What will you be remembered for if you never push yourself to be anything more than you are today?”
